


The Witch's bride

by Jinxbymidnight



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Folklore, Horror, Romance, Witches, Yandere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 02:39:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14534889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinxbymidnight/pseuds/Jinxbymidnight
Summary: After a botched attempt to film a horror movie, your tutor suggests you go to another town to film itKirktown seemed nice and all, if it weren't for that strange feeling of being watched. Oh, and the legend about the witch who allegedly kidnapped teenage girls in his search for a brideBut that was crazy, right?There was no such thing as witches, and the "sightings" had to be fake, there had to be a logical explanation for thisRight?





	1. The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PotatooftheLand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotatooftheLand/gifts).



> This is my first horror story I've written, so I hope you all like it! Don't forget to comment! 
> 
> Look what you've done to me, Potato

You stared to at the sign proclaiming " _Welcome to Kirktown!"_ as you walked towards the entrance of the small town

Your friends, Ava and Chris, were on either side of you and nudged you into entering the town and you followed them in, despite the shiver racing up your back

The town seemed nice enough with green lawns and nice houses and bright flowers, but that didn't stop you from feeling like you were being watched the minute you set foot in the town

"You okay?" Ava snapped you out of your thoughts, and you smiled weakly at her

"Yeah, I'm good"

Ava didn't seem convinced, but she shrugged and the three of you made your way to the nearest Inn

You had looked up the directions before you arrived so you knew where to go and luckily didn't get lost despite Chris's record of getting lost in foreign places

After renting rooms out for a few days, the three of you went to scout the nearby forest, despite your reservations about the place

"I'm telling you, this place is weird" You protested, but reluctantly followed your friends towards the forbidding looking forest

"You said that about the one back home, besides, weird things happened there so we _had_ to come here" Chris reasoned and you shrugged

"Relax, you guys" Ava skipped ahead of you two "I'm excited about this. New town, new people, and a new location to do this film!"

The three of you were media and film students at your local university and you were tasked with filming a short movie for your grade

Ava was the source of the ideas and the director, Chris was the script writer and you were technical support

The movie you were supposed to film was a horror movie and Ava, despite her optimistic and upbeat nature, rose to the challenge and pitched ideas that made even your tutor shiver in fright

The three of you had attempted to film in the forest near your city, but things kept going wrong

Firstly, a shower of rain interrupted the filming, despite the forecast calling for sunny spells the entire week

Then, your friend Susan, who was audio support, somehow broke her ankle and almost fell into nearby river so that definitely put a setback in your schedule

Then your camera stopped working as soon as you entered the forest, and Ava, an avid hiker who was used to that forest and knew it like the back of her hand, got lost and didn't return until late evening

Your tutor eventually instructed you to film in one of the old towns just outside of your state and sent you off with enough funding for a month of staying there

So you were here now, reluctantly leaving Susan behind to recover in hospital, and when you stared up at the tall trees, you couldn't help but feel like something was about to go horribly wrong

But you fought off that feeling and smiled at your friends as they began scouting the area

You joined them and examined a few knotted trees that you thought would look great in a shot when Chris broke you from your concentration

"Hey guys, look" Chris called over, interrupting you from your thoughts "check this out!"

He beckoned you and Ava over and when you jogged over, he pulled back a particularly weathered branch branch to reveal... A path?

"Oooooooooh this is gonna be good!" Ava chirped, clapping her hands excitedly

Of course she'd be happy about this, she loved horror films

You rolled your eyes but turned your attention back to the path

"I don't think it's been used in years" Chris concluded, as you eyed the beaten down path

"It's kinda creepy too... There's no birds or anything in there" You added, frowning when you saw no sign of life in that forest

"It'll be perfect though! For our opening shot, we can film here" Ava suggested and you shrugged

"Yeah, it'll be great" Chris grinned, releasing the branch and turning to look at you both "It's so creepy - no signs of life in a forest and a path miraculously showing us the way!"

"Yeah, that's all fine and dandy" You cut across, looking at your watch and almost having a heart attack "It's half 7!"

"What?" Ava checked her phone to reveal that it was, indeed, half past seven

That was confusing

"But we left at noon" Chris started "and it took us twenty minutes to walk here. We can't have been gone for that long! We didn't even do much!"

You shivered, that strange feeling of being watched hadn't gone away yet

"Whatever, let's just go back and get some food. We'll think about it in the morning"

Your friends made sounds of agreement and the three of you began walking back to your Inn which also had a bar/diner attached to it

Soon enough, you reached it and despite the cheerful atmosphere, you didn't feel quite right

Maybe it was because Ava and Chris said that they'd join you later after making edits to the script, but you couldn't shake it off

There was something eerie about that forest, but you couldn't quite out your finger on it

"You alright there, darlin?" a voice interrupted your thoughts and you looked to see a middle-aged waitress smiling down at you

"Oh, um, yes I'm fine" You faked a smile, but she didn't seem to be convinced

"So you're new here, right? If you have any questions, you just ask me, alright?"

You couldn't help your smile

"Thank you. Wait, I do have some questions"

The waitress, Delilah, as her name tag read, smiled and took a seat

"Um, so we went to the forest just outside of town..."

As soon as you said that, all chatter in the bar had died down, and it became deathly silent

"Is... Is there something up with it because we got there at like half 12, at didn't even do much but by the time we checked the time, it was half 7"

There was some uneasy muttering and Delilah, as well as other patrons in the bar and diner looked at you blankly

"You mean.... You don't know?" a middle-aged man asked, looking concerned

"Know what?"

"I'll take it from here, Hank" a new said, and you turned to see an elderly looking woman with wire rimmed glasses approaching you "I'm Esther, the town's historian, and I'm surprised you don't know the legend. Here in Kirktown, we've got our own witch"

You nodded, that sounded interesting

"See this portrait over here?" she pointed at a portrait of a handsome looking man that was mounted on the wall

It was faded slightly from age, but that didn't dampen the man's slightly creepy stare, and his smile was sharp and cruel looking

You shuddered without meaning to and Delilah put a comforting hand on your shoulder

"He has that affect on everyone"

You could certainly see why

"This man was the Lord of this town, a few centuries ago. As you can probably tell, he wasn't the nicest of people and often terrorised the town by increasing taxes and other such things. But the worst of it was that he was a witch"

"Really?"

Esther nodded

"Yes, when he started practicing, strange things started happening around here. The river dried up and the forest that surrounded his mansion thickened and became that forest you see here today. All the wildlife seemed to vanish overnight in there and nobody knew why. Eventually, he became a sort of recluse and didn't come out, no one knows what happened to him, but he probably died from the viruses that were around at the time"

"Nobody went to check out his estate? What about family and friends?" You asked

Esther shook her head

"People tried, but as soon as they entered that forest, they got lost. Few ever made it back, and the ones did.... Well..."

"What happened to them?" You prompted

"They went insane" someone piped up from the back

"Yes, thank you, Bobby" Esther spoke testily, before she turned back to you "They did go insane and died shortly after, but one thing that all those who returned had in common was that they spoke about trees shifting around them and, as strange as it is, trees coming to life"

"Did... Did the townsfolk believe them?"

Esther nodded

"They had to. Especially when the search parties ended up dying"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's true" another patron of the bar spoke up, and you looked over to see an old man nodding "My great granddaddy was a young man at the time, and he and a few others saw the dead bodies. They went to tell the sheriff but by the time they came back, the bodies were gone, but there was a trail of blood leading to the forest. And that's not the worst of it. The worst part was that they were already disemboweled when my great granddaddy saw 'em"

Your eyes widened

This town really was full of horrors

"That's right. And that's not the only thing that the witch caused" another woman added as you turned to look at her

"It's not?"

"Nope. There were a string a teenage girls who went missing ninety years ago or so. They didn't have any boyfriends or anything, they just vanished one morning and weren't heard from since"

"Really? Why was the witch blamed?"

"Because he never got married" Esther supplied "He was looking for a bride but never found one when he was alive, so the rumor is that he's still looking for a bride even now that he's dead"

You let out a low whistle

That was a lot to take in

Now it made sense why your tutor sent you here, this town's dark history made it a prefect spot to film, and to tie in the local legends to your story

"That's why all the families that have girls move to a different state. They don't want to risk anything" Delilah added "When my little Susie was born, we didn't want to risk it so as soon as she was able to travel, we moved flat across the country. When she got married and moved out, my hubby and I moved back here because she was safe. The same thing happened to me when I was born"

That was weird

 _'Why would they still do this in the day and age?'_ you thought

"But that was all hundreds of years ago, does the entire town still believe in the witch?"

"I can see where you're coming from" the bartender spoke, polishing some crystal glasses "And the belief in him died out a few decades ago until a a few girls went missing again. This time, we did manage to find the girls only because the sicko who did it turned himself in. He claimed that the witch told him to abduct those girls and take 'em into the forest"

"So that stirred up the belief in the witch again" You concluded and the bartender nodded before jerking his head in the direction of the creepy portrait

"That portrait was hung here when the inn was first built by the witch, with the instructions to not move it. Back then, he wasn't so bad, but he got from bad to worse. Once, a farmer wanted to remove it but as soon as he went to move it, he has a serious stroke. From then on, nobody's tried to moved it and to this date, no one plans to"

"I know this is a lot to take in, dear, but you need to be careful" Delilah concluded as the bar dissolved back into it's usual chatter

You nodded slowly and thanked them for the information before going to your room and trying to get some sleep

The local legend was that the witch liked teenage girls right?

And you did feel like you were being watched as soon as you entered the town...

But maybe that was just the locals looking out for you

Besides, Ava was also a teenage girl and she hadn't mentioned anything to you

You nuzzled into the pillows and tried to get some sleep, eventually falling asleep, completely oblivious to the looming danger around you

 

 _"(Name), my perfect little bride"_ a voice whispered, foreign hands stroking your hair softly as blue-bell eyes gazed down at you

No, you wouldn’t know until it was too late


	2. The haunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another venture into the forest in an attempt to film leads to unintended results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... I don't like how this chapter turned out, but what do you guys think .

You woke up feeling restless

Last night was not a good night

You slept for a long time, yes, but it felt like you were wide awake the whole time

And you couldn't shake off the feeling of someone watching you

You remembered hiding under the blankets, as if that would help, but you swore you heard a man chuckle

Not only that, you swore you felt hands stroking your hair and moving down your body, as if trying to soothe you, and the feeling of someone's lips on your forehead

But when you checked the door in the morning, you found that it was locked, and that the windows were locked too

There weren't any vents either

You tried to dismiss it as your overactive imagination and the legend of the witch that you heard last night, but your paranoia didn't fade

You quickly got dressed and met your friends in the bar

"Mornin', sleepyhead" Chris grinned at you over his mug of hot chocolate

He was weird like that

He only drank hot chocolate instead of tea or coffee, and even drank it in the summer!

"Sup, (Name)" Ava paused between bites of her pancakes to greet you

"Hey guys" You collapsed into the chair opposite them "Last night was not a good night"

"Why?"

"What happened?"

You rubbed your eyes tiredly

"It felt like someone was in the room with me" Ava and Chris exchanged looks "And that's not the worst of it... The worst was that they were... Touching me... Running their hands up and down my body... But when I checked in the morning, the door was locked and so was the window"

Ava set her knife and fork down to reach over and squeeze your hands comfortingly

"Maybe you're just tired from traveling" Chris suggested, setting down his mug "And that weird legend from last night might have popped up in your dreams, and you thought it was real life?"

"Lucid dreaming" Ava suggested 

You wanted to believe them, but you couldn't bring yourself to

It felt too real

Ava must've sensed the concern radiating off your body because she squeezed your hands tighter

"Tell you what, we'll switch rooms tonight. Maybe it's the room that's making you feel off"

You smiled gratefully and nodded

"That'd be great, thank you, Ava"

Ava grinned and released your hands

"Good. Now eat something to keep your strength up, you too Chris, because _hot chocolate doesn't count as breakfast"_

You chuckled as Chris stuck his tongue out at her before grabbing an apple from the basket on the table

Ava seemed pleased with his choice of breakfast because she directed her glare at you

You shrugged apologetically and went to the breakfast buffet to grab a plate, and you reached over to spoon some fried eggs onto your plate when someone gripped your wrist

You looked up to see an old woman standing there, and she glanced around suspiciously before leaning in

"Be careful, the witch knows you're here. Take something made of iron if you go out"

She released your wrist and vanished into the crowd of people joining the buffet

Suddenly the eggs didn't seem as appetising as before

* * *

  
“Okay” Ava began as you finally arrived at a clearing in the forest “So you know the script, right?”

It was just as foreboding as yesterday, and the feeling of being watched only intensified and you shivered, clutching at the iron horseshoe in your pocket - you weren’t taking any chances this time

The three of you had set up cameras to cover the angles you needed, and today was going to be your turn in being filmed

Your character was going to run through the forest away from a some sort of monster and the next clearing was where the scene would end

It seemed simple enough, and you were ready for this

“(Name)?”

Chris was waving a hand in front of your face and you blinked

  
“Hmm? Yes, right. I know the script” you nodded and the two of them looked at you with concern

“Do you want to do it tomorrow, we can-”

“Nope!” you cut across “Let’s do this, I’m ready for this”

“Alright” Chris said slowly, not looking convinced “But let us know if you want to do it tomorrow instead”

You nodded and they walked out of the line of sight of the cameras

“3, 2, 1… Action” Ava called and you fell into character

You began sprinting through the forest, darting between trees and leaping over wayward bushes that were in your path

You looked behind your shoulder, staying in character, and a shadow... Moved near you

_What?_

No

That wasn't normal

Chris promised that nothing else would be added that wasn't in the script, so it wasn't him dressing up in black and trying to creep you out

So what was it?

Your mind instantly conjured up an image of a faceless creature, with long dark limbs, sharp teeth and razor sharp claws

That shouldn't have scared you, but that, combined with the adrenaline rushing through your system, forced you to run faster and faster

Your muscles burned and you were gasping for air, sending glances behind you every few metres or so to see if something was following you

And to your growing fear, _something was following you_

You could hear it's footsteps getting closer as they stepped on the crunchy leaves

 _'Dear God or whoever it is up there, please don't let me die'_ you found yourself praying

It didn't matter if you were religious or not before, this encounter was certainly making a believer out of you

And to make things worse, you were lost!

Ava was waiting for you at the end of the path you were supposed to take that led to the clearing, but you'd gotten off track and you didn't know if were going deeper into the forest, or getting out of it

It didn't matter

You had to get away from whatever it was that was chasing you

You doubled back, diving under a bush and hid 

You tried to steady your heart and your breathing, lest it give you away, and waited

A minute passed and then two, but you didn't dare lift your head or take a peek

All seemed to be quiet

Then you heard it

Footsteps coming closer

The person stopped, and looked around

And then he started laughing

You knew it was a man, because of how deep his laugh was

" _Now, now, darling"_ he purred out in an aristocratic sounding voice, and you choked back a sob " _Don't hide from me, you won't like what will happen"_

Who was he talking to?

There was no one else here, so he must be talking to you!

But who was he?

You hadn't met anyone who sounded like that in the village, so it couldn't be a local playing a prank

So who was it?

You didn't know you were crying until your tears leaked onto your hands that were still clamping your mouth shut

The man hadn't left yet, so you couldn't go

And you had no way of contacting anyone to help you!

What were you going to do?

"Hmm... She must have taken a different route... Sneaky little human" he muttered, more to himself than anything, but that was a relief

He began walking away and you waited until he was at a safe enough distance away before you could run away

His footsteps faded gradually and you waited, just in case he came back

Luckily, he didn't, and you sighed in relief before beginning to extract yourself from the bush and began running again

You had to get out of here, right now

You ducked branches and dodged trees and shrubs in your pursuit to find the exit, but you couldn't see anything beyond the thicket of ancient trees and and the fog that seemed to suddenly appear

It looked like ghosts were flitting between the trees...

And the fact that the sun was beginning to set didn't help matters at all

You couldn't have been in here for more than an hour!

How was it almost night time already?

It didn't matter

All that mattered was getting out of here

Eventually, you came across a beaten path that was lined with well kept looking trees, and you realized that this was the same path that you, Ava and Chris had come across yesterday

How did you get here?

You looked down the path, noticing an ancient mansion standing there in the distance

Maybe you could find help there

But every instinct was screaming at you to get as far away as possible from that mansion, no matter what

You listened to your gut and followed the path away from the manor, hoping that it would take you back to the village and back to safety 

You were cold, tired and hungry

You hadn't eaten since last night, having been put off from the eggs and everything else in the breakfast buffet by the warning that the strange woman had given you in the morning

The path veered to the left, and you could see light flitting in from between the trees

That had to be the exit!

You tried to push yourself to move faster, but you were so exhausted...

So tired and hungry, and the feeling of being followed returned

You stumbled from tree to tree, steadying yourself on each one before moving onto the next until finally, you were out!

You stumbled into the light and collapsed to your knees, steadying yourself with your hands 

As soon as you passed the threshold, the feeling of being followed vanished, as if whatever it was that had been following you had slunk off on dejection as you exited it's realm

You gasped for air, fully collapsing to the ground, and it was then that you noticed that people were there

You could just about hear the wails of an ambulance and the sirens of a few police cars over the thundering of your heartbeat in your ears

Your eyes closed as a few people ran over to you, and you felt yourself being gently turned over and checked on, but at this point, it didn't matter

All that mattered was that you'd gotten out of that forest, and you were safe

 

 

_For now..._

 


End file.
